Agile AL-2500 12 String

The same guitar as described by others. This one is blue and weighs in at a very hefty 10.8 lbs. It has a nice feature set that's typical of a LP.

My band mate has a $600 Epiphone LP 12 string that sounds great and I bought the Agile in hopes of it sounding as good. Unfortunately when a/b'd through the same amps the Agile came up far short. The pickups were adjusted to a good height and the output was about the same as the Epi. The sound is serviceable but plain and very lacking complexity. While the Epi has a nice woody character that blooms and opens up as it sustains the Agile's sound is relatively flat and lacks resonance. It has good sustain though. The tonal range between the 2 pickups, while being present, is not great. The Epi is heavy enough to get comments by the people who hold it but it's considerably lighter than the Agile. This may account for the difference in the resonant quality between the two. Played unplugged the Agile is relatively quiet and doesn't vibrate in your hands like its Epi twin. This really does translate to the unplugged sound.

The guitar is really quite beautiful and came setup very well although I didn't get too fussy checking the intonation. The action is medium low and it's very nice to play. I didn't spot any finish flaws like color bleed or dust in the finish. One nitpick that certainly isn't a deal killer is a significantly lighter blue color on the back of the neck when compared to the darker body. This is probably due to the lighter maple used in the neck.

I've had good experiences dealing with Rondo Music.

I had high hopes that lightning would strike with Agile as I would like to have a 12 string. Although comparing a $300 guitar to a $600 one is a little unfair, it gave me a good chance to evaluate the Agiles sound. The differences in the resonance and woody character of the 2 instrument was striking The Agile sounds ok plugged in and adding effects helped. It's build quality and features, like binding throughout, a better bridge and tuners, and a better cut nut, exceeds that of the Epiphone. If a guitar sounds good I'm willing to overlook other deficiencies like the excessive weight of the Agile. But the uninspiring sound and lack of resonance really gives me pause and I'm afraid that this one is going back.

The features on this 12 string LP copy are described at Rondo Music.
The neck width is 3/4".
The actual weight is a whopping 10.8 lbs.
$300 from Rondo Music website.

I bought this guitar because I like playing my bandmates Epiphone 12 string LP. The Epi cost about $600 at Musicians Friend a couple of years ago. After adjusting the Agile's pickups, I A/B'd it with the Epi through our usual equipment. Unfortunately I found it lacking in comparison. Perhaps it's the extremely heavy and dense wood on Agile that causes the difference. The Epiphone is a heavy guitar that would always draw comments on it's weight but it seems light next to the Agile. Unlike the Epi the Agile, when played unamplified, was relatively quiet, projected little and didn't vibrate much in my hands. Plugged in the Epiphone has a nice resonance and bloom to the sound with lots of rich harmonic content, the Agile had little of that character. Neither the Epi or the Agile are likely to be described as jangle machines. The sound, while not unpleasant, is very basic without much complexity. Switching between pickups produced different sounds but without the wide range present in the Epiphone. It sustains well enough but the sound is thin and flat without the body and stout mids that are typical of a LP. It seriously lacks that woody character found in resonant solid body guitars. That's not to say that it sounded bad and adding eq and effects produced an array of usable if generic sounds. It was quiet when plugged in with no hum or buzz even when played next to the DAW monitors.

The build quality on this blue flame maple top guitar is very good as is the playability. The guitar came setup well and although I would fine tune the setup if I were to keep the guitar, it played well right out of the box. The nut was cut correctly and the intonation sounded very good. It seems to keep its tune as well but I only played it for 3 hours. I didn't spot any finish flaws and the binding on the neck, body, and headstock were all correct. In fact the cosmetics and features on the Agile surpassed the Epi and the overall build quality is a little better. One quibble, that isn't a deal killer for me, is the color blue is quite a bit lighter on the back of the neck than the body. This is due to the lighter maple used on the neck next to the dark mahogany body. Inside the control cavity the wiring is well done, not at all sloppy and the cavity is covered with a thick coating of shielding paint. Not so common on inexpensive instruments.

It seems to be a very stout instrument. The pots all operate smoothly and the selector switch feels right. The output jack plate is plastic but seems tough enough. It has a thick poly coating that looks great.

I've had no problems dealing with Rondo.

I had high hopes for this purchase and it's value lies in your expectations. At $300 its a beautiful and fine playing 12 string. In fact the build quality appears to be as nice as guitars costing 3 times as much and its sound is serviceable. My expectations were quickly lowered when I started playing it next to a very good sounding instrument. I like the Musicians Friend Epiphone 12 so much that I was hoping, perhaps foolishly, lightning would strike with the Agile. The weight however, is brutal and it had a bit of neck dive when hanging on a strap. I think that my 6'3" height contributes to this on some guitars. If the sound is good on a nice playing guitar I'll overlook things that I don't like but I'm afraid that this one is going back. The sound was uninspiring at best and when compared side by side with a better guitar, was disappointing. It didn't vibrate when played and this lack of resonance really shows up in its sound. It may no be fair to compare it to a guitar costing twice as much but my goal is to get that quality level of sound. Swapping pickups might help but I believe that much of a guitars sound originates in the wood and adding another $100+ to the cost still won't get to the rich sound a higher quality instrument brings to the table. None the less as a entry level 12 string electric it's a handsome, durable and nice playing instrument that will that sounds ok plugged in.

This is as previously described a Les Paul modeled 12 string. It is a beautiful instrument regardless of being low priced. It is a heavy body.. I noter loads of sustain which could be in part due to the massive weight. Rosewood neck.. pretty good quality all round.

I play a real variety of stuff.. I use this guitar for full strumming sounds.. Cadillac ranch, free falling - stuff like that. I'm using it with both a VTX-60 vox modeling amp (ussually set for vox or marshall emulation) and a peavey nashville 112 pedal steel amp 9great guitar amp by the way).
You can do some high neck leads with it, but as with all 12s it is a bit hard to bend.
No noise stock (I changed out the pickups to Q-tone neodyniums after about 2 weeks)
Bright to rich overdriven sound.. really nice range.

for the 300 dollar price range this thing is awesome.. smooth frets, bright finish, stays in tune.

This guitar is gigable, solid and i would not bother taking a backup

I've played incessantly for the last 5 years.. 2-6 hours every day - I have some dough now that I am a bit older and have a nice collection of guitars.. but i collect players not lookers.. i wanted an electric 12 string, and thought that this would be a cost effective alternative to a gretsch .. it is actually in my mind just a great guitar.. wouldn't trade it for a another electric 12 sting.. had a rick and i like this wayyy better.
I have a taylor 655 12, a gretsch stray cat, a breedlove myrtlewood custom, a custom strat, a blackbird cf travel guitar, and a rainsong CF

The features:
Honey-Sunburst mahogany body with a real flame grade A maple top with "tiger striping".
The weight of the guitar is 10.5 pounds.
The set neck scale is 24 3/4" with a 22 fret Indian rosewood fingerboard.
The neck is made of 2 piece Canadian maple.
The neck and headstock are bound. The body top is also bound.
The dual humbucker pickups are ceramic chrome covered.
A standard 3 position pickup switch is used.
The body width is 13" (at it's widest point).
Cream colored pick guard and pickup bezels.
The nut is graphite.
The tune-a-matic bridge and stop bar are die cast chrome.
The tuners are chrome Grovers with an 18:1 ratio.
Made in Korea (date unknown).

Our style is 60's British Invasion. So this guitar was perfect. I play through a Fender Twin Verb and a all tube crate half stack. The sound is very managable and has much tone to play with.

You'll find yourself picking out many of your favorite 12 string songs you never thought you could play before.

The sounds can very from nice & bright to low & warm.

I have no dislikes on this product.

I may need to adjust the action a bit but that goes without saying when you purchase a new guitar. Other than that, this gun is ready to jam right out of the packaging.

So far this guitar shows signs of excellent craftsmanship. Solid knobs and switches. Nothing flimsy about it. The guitar is still new and has gone out of tunning after a few songs but I think the strings are still stretching.

This was a gift and have yet to deal with Rondo Music but I hear great things about them.

I picked up my first electric in 86' when I was 15 and have always played through a 70's silver face Fender twin verb. These days I mostly play Surf music and 60's British Invasion.

Being a left handed guitarist has always been a curse. Long have I thumbed through guitar catalogs and peered inside music stores only to be reminded of how different I was.

I was bummed when the only electric 12 string I could find for lefty's was from a guitar company I never heard of "Agile".

You see being left handed, I have to take what is thrown to me most of the time. And most of the time I end up with crap like "Aslin Dane" guitars with poor crafstmanship. So when I could only find "Agile" guitars I was hesitant.

However, it was a blessing in disguise. This guitar has really impressed me so far. If it was stolen I would definetly replace it. Not only that. At this price I will probably be purchasing another Agile guitar in the near future.

I beleive this guitar will give you the biggest bang for your buck and I highly recommend.

The Agile AL-2500 is a beautiful 12 string electric guitar that is modeled after the famous Gibson Les Paul. Agile guitars are sold by the fine folks at Rondo Music so anyone who is thinking about getting a very good 12 string electric should check them out.
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The features:
Honey-Sunburst mahogany body with a real flame grade A maple top with "tiger striping".
The weight of the guitar is 10.5 pounds.
The set neck scale is 24 3/4" with a 22 fret Indian rosewood fingerboard.
The neck is made of 2 piece Canadian maple.
The neck and headstock are bound. The body top is also bound.
The dual humbucker pickups are ceramic chrome covered.
A standard 3 position pickup switch is used.
The body width is 13" (at it's widest point).
Cream colored pick guard and pickup bezels.
The nut is graphite.
The tune-a-matic bridge and stop bar are die cast chrome.
The tuners are chrome Grovers with an 18:1 ratio.
Made in Korea (date unknown).
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Quite frankly, this guitar is no joke! Agile makes a wonderful instrument that is not only pleasing to the eye but a wonderful player. The sound is clear and bright with the ceramic pickups...something that a 12 string really needs.
For the money, there is no Gibson, Epiphone,Rickenbacker, Fender or Schector that comes close to this 12 string in value or playability.
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The Agile 12 string is a modern day wonder! Anyone who plays a 12 string knows about the tuning problems and the potential neck problems one can experience. The Les Paul body gives the neck the needed support to keep the 12 string straight. The real surprise is the Agile ceramic pickups- they are simply great. The ceramics are not dull or flat sounding and allow the octave strings to "breathe" without sounding "too bright" or harsh.
In a clean setting or overdriven the Agile AL-2500 feels right at home something you'll appreciate on stage for sure.
The dual pickup sound is incredible...by dialing in more "treble" (bridge pickup) or "bass" (neck pickup) you can customize your sound. The neck pickup can produce a sweet jazzy tone with the octave strings -Wes Montgomery tones are in order.
For rock with some distortion the Agile gets down with surprising results.

Out of the box I was amazed at the clean finish, fretwork, straight neck , and flawless binding. I tuned the guitar and was blown away with it's sound when I plugged it through my Peavey Valveking amp.
The only adjustment I had to make was to raise the action on the lower strings...there was a slight fret buzz past the 14th fret on the low E and A strings. After that everything was very nice!
The pickup height was perfect and needed no adjusting.
There was no rough edges on the frets and the hardware was tight and properly aligned.
I was in shock at the quality and attention to setup that this guitar showed me.

I plan to gig with this guitar soon to see how the 12 string will do.
So far, it's been great at rehearsal so I'm really looking forward to using it on stage.
The strap buttons are large and really feel secure.
I'll have my handy Stratocaster close by also.

Kurt at Rondo answered all my questions and did not force me into buying this instrument. Rondo's website is well organized and informative.
Not sure how long the warranty is though.

I've been playing for 36 years and I own a 70s reissue Fender Strat and a Peavey VK-112 amp.
I would replace the AL-2500 12 if it were stolen.
I suggest you buy a case with the AL-2500- Rondo offers a nice hardshell case that is awesome.
I've owned other 12-string electrics (by Fender and Cort) that were very limited and disappointing. The Agile 12 string just blows away the competition.
I am very pleased with it's feautures, sound & quality.
Agile my be the best guitar you've never heard of!
I not ashamed to say I won't or can't justify spending thousands of dollars on other brands.
Buy one and have fun.